spacetoday.net: Atlas 5 launches first Project Kuiper satellites

Posted: Sat, Oct 14, 2023, 11:35 AM ET (1535 GMT)
Amazon launched the first satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband constellation Oct. 5. A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 2:06 pm EDT (1806 GMT with two prototype Kuiper satellites on board. The rocket deployed the satellites into low Earth orbit 18 minutes later. Amazon said it established contact with the two satellites, KuiperSat-1 and 2, about a half-hour after liftoff. The satellites will enable Amazon to test space and ground systems for Project Kuiper from an altitude of 500 kilometers before full-scale production launches start next year. The satellites were shifted to an Atlas 5 after delays with the launch of the first Vulcan Centaur and, before that, the RS1 rocket from ABL Space Systems.